


Falls Short

by Friemesis (Sue_Snell)



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Drabble, Drabble Collection, Drabble Sequence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-27
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-03-24 18:03:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 40
Words: 4,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13816554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sue_Snell/pseuds/Friemesis
Summary: Just a little writing experiment I'm trying where I'll post one drabble a week, each inspired by the corresponding Gravity Falls episode. (So the first inspired by Tourist Trapped, the next by The Legend of the Gobblewonker, and so forth.)





	1. Chapter 1

Through the doorway he sees Dipper in his armchair, reading. The book looks like—no.

Stan's heart stops, but his poker face holds.

"What'cha readin' there, Slick?"

Dipper panics, stashing the journal and grabbing a GCOM issue. Smooth.

Still, Stan won't say anything unless he's _sure_. He sneaks off to the vending machine, rides the painfully-slow elevator, runs to his workbench.

Journal's still there.

…duh. If Dipper found this place, he'd do more than steal Ford's journal. Stan shivers.

Still, crisis averted. He's just seeing things, apparently. Maybe because Dipper reminds him of Ford.

Maybe he reminds him too much.


	2. Chapter 2

Déjà vu was something McGucket hated. He almost couldn't finish the Gobblewonker with all that cold, creeping familiarity: When he drew the blueprints, lit up its yellow eyes, perfected its terrible roar…

…what'd he need this critter for again? Maybe he'd remember once he took it out…

Déjà vu pestered him most every day: Whenever he saw some letters in a funny order, a circle inside a triangle, Stan Pines cleaning his glasses…

…why'd he come to the Mystery Shack again?

Déjà vu kept him up some nights, but it always fell out his head eventually. Just like everything else.


	3. Chapter 3

"Grunkle Stan," said Dipper at breakfast, "You bought those wax figures from a garage sale, right?"

"Sure. 'Bought.' Why?"

"Did you 'buy' anything else there?"

"Yeah," Mabel piped up, "Didja get anymore loot from the haunted garage sale?"

"'Haunted garage sale,' jeez… Well, pretty sure I just got those dummies and your beds."

"What?!"

"Oh yeah. Got 'em cheap 'cause of the 'terrible curse' that 'afflicts' whoever sleeps in 'em or whatever."

"Oh my gosh, Dipper, is that why you recite weird poetry in your sleep?"

" _Wha_ —I, I gotta…" Dipper fled the room.

"…gullible. Nice one, kid."

"High five!"


	4. Chapter 4

Gideon sighed and flipped through the journal, pausing to gaze wistfully at the page on his now-lost amulet.

It was darn near the most powerful thing in the book, and it was also the most complete entry. Most of the journal couldn't go two pages without a "see Journal 1 for illustration" or "instructions in Journal 1." Puzzles with missing pieces.

Then there was the other stuff. The parts where the handwriting was a little off. The parts with triangles and cryptograms and summoning circles. Those parts were hardest to puzzle through.

But he reckoned those parts were the best.


	5. Chapter 5

She was just a kid the first time she visited the Mystery Shack. That day, she spent ages staring at the mermaid skeleton, until Mister Mystery himself came by.

"You okay, kid?"

"I _know_ it's fake."

"Oh yeah?"

"But the bones are real. Where'd you get 'em?"

He chuckled.

"You're a weird kid."

Funnily, that made Wendy feel grown up.

Now she knew where all the bones and feathers and taxidermy parts came from, how to glue them together. She knew how fakes worked. She knew it was _all_ fake.

Or, she did until today.

Well, time to rethink everything.


	6. Chapter 6

"Hello?" Dipper called as he entered the cave, shrugging out of his heavy backpack. Even after hours of hiking, he could barely contain his excitement.

He reached into the pack and pulled out his precious cargo: A new CD. BABBA finally dropped their new album this week.

He kept telling Multi-Bear he needed to get wifi out here so he could stream their new stuff, but Multi-Bear was more a fan of their early work, said he had all the cassettes(!) he'd ever need. That said, he never kicked Dipper out when he hiked up here with his CD player.


	7. Chapter 7

"Hey, Ford. How's it goin' with Stan?"

"I told you not to call my clone that. And I've already destroyed him. You should've asked me before building this human photocopier of yours, Fiddleford; it's a terrible idea."

"You already _killed_ 'im? What for? I thought the two of you would whip up those portal plans twice as fast!"

"He kept correcting my work, _insisting_ he knew better than I did. Most infuriating."

"Can't imagine."

"Anyway, we must destroy that blasted machine at once!"

"…uh-huh. Welp, _I'll_ take care of it, then. You just go on and forget about it, okay?"


	8. Chapter 8

When Stan finally makes it home from the Pioneer Day festival, he's exhausted. His back aches from his stint in "ye stocks," and he just wants to put this stupid day full of this stupid town's stupid antics behind him.

He heads down to the basement anyway.

He doesn't bother working on the portal tonight, instead idly flipping through Ford's journal, even though he's read the thing a million times. Before long, he lands on the shortest entry in the whole book:

_June 18_

_Note to self: Never leave the house on Pioneer Day._

Stan smirks.

"You said it, Ford."


	9. Chapter 9

"Absolutely not."

"But Grunkle Stan! Look at him!"

"I'm lookin'."

"See, his name is Waddles, 'cause he—"

"Yeah, I get it."

"Isn't it the best name ever?!"

"Bacon doesn't need a name."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."

"Won't make it less true."

"Grunkle Staaaaaaaaan, this pig is my soulmate!"

"You said that about a bottle of glitter glue once."

"Alright, y'know what? Fine. Kick Waddles out. But first you have to tell him why."

"Mabel, you can't have a pig because—"

"Ah-ah-ah! Not to me, to _him_. To _this_ squishy face."

"I…"

"Well?"

"…keep the stupid pig."


	10. Chapter 10

Robbie strummed aimlessly on his guitar, working on a song for Wendy.

"Babe you know I like you most out of anyone in this whole stupid world.

If I had to face a ghost for you I'd…"

…run away like a little girl?

Nevermind.

"You know I hate to see you cry alone,

so let me dry your tears with a snow co—no, that's dumb."

That fair sucked anyway.

"I know how you hate fighting,

but you know I'd fight for you…"

…unless some snot-nosed kid brought in a blurry fire-throwing maniac.

Robbie sighed. Maybe song-writing wasn't his thing.


	11. Chapter 11

"So Soos, you never did tell us why you were wearing Grunkle Stan's hat in the first place."

"Oh. Uh, don't worry about it, dude."

"Aw, c'mon, you can tell _me_. I'm the Alpha Twin!"

"Well…"

" _Please?_ "

"Okay, like, it's just, sometimes I think it'd be cool to be Mister Mystery when I grow up."

"Soos, you _did_ grow up. You're a grown-up."

"…you're blowin' my mind, dude."

"Sorry."

"It's cool. Guess I did grow up, but that doesn't mean I can't grow up some more, and _then_ …"

"The next Mister Mystery!"

"You think Stan'd let me?"

"Yeah!"

"Thanks, dude."


	12. Chapter 12

"Alright, Soos, party's over, go home."

"Sure thing, Mister Pines."

"Soos?"

"Yeah?"

"You're not moving."

"Oh."

"…you okay, Soos?"

"I kinda had a lot of Summerween candy tonight. Like, a _lot_. Like, it's kinda hard to move?"

"You kiddin' me?"

"I'd never kid about Summerween candy."

"Uh-huh."

"Hey, Grunkle Stan?"

"Go back to bed."

"Is Soos staying the night?"

"No."

"Did someone say Soos is staying the night?"

" _Go to bed_. Both of ya."

"Sleep-ov-er! Sleep-ov-er!"

"…Mister Pines?"

"…fine."

"Yeah!"

"Now go to bed."

"Boo."

"Both of ya. _All_ of ya."

"Night, dudes!"

"Night, Soos!"

"Night, Mister Pines!"

"…night, Soos."


	13. Chapter 13

"What'cha workin' on there, Ford?" Instead of waiting for his friend to answer, McGucket peeked over his shoulder, then shuddered. "Oh." He was finishing up a sketch of that simply _awful_ critter. What fool name'd he give it? Oh, right: The Gremloblin.

"Please, Fiddleford." Ford hunched protectively over his journal. "You know I don't like it when you peer over my shoulder like that."

"Sorry." McGucket shrugged sheepishly. He did know that. He didn't know why. Sure, the man doodled the occasional triangle in there, but Ford's journals were _research_ journals, not personal diaries, right? What'd he have to hide?


	14. Chapter 14

Once Stan's sure none of the others followed him back into the bottomless pit, he begins his search.

He didn't mean to immediately fall back in, but now he understands how the pit works—keeping things but spitting out people—he knows would've come here eventually. Ford said he hid his other two journals away. Could they be here, floating in the blackness with Stan's old tax returns and Soos's contributions to the Shack's suggestion box?

He looks everywhere, but they're nowhere to be found. Another dead end. He should be used to those by now, but it still hurts.


	15. Chapter 15

That first day, Mermando sent seven bottle messages, Mabel squealing with delight every time one bobbed to the surface.

The next day he sent two.

Five came over the following week.

Only one the next week. Then, for a while, none.

Mabel still checked every day.

"Hey, forget that jerk," Dipper told her, "If he's too busy with merman stuff to write, _you're_ too busy with cute vampires to care, right?"

"I guess…" Her words were uncertain, but her smile was honest. Good. Time to move on.

The next day a bottle arrived, and she squealed with delight.

Or not.


	16. Chapter 16

"Sorry we're making you move all this stuff again, Grunkle Stan," said Mabel, adjusting her grip on a box of Dipper's books.

"Uh…" said Soos from farther up the stairs, where he was single-handedly hauling Dipper's mattress.

"I'll live," Stan grumbled, starting up the stairway with an empty laundry basket and nothing more, "But this is it. You two _ain't_ changing your minds again, got it?"

"Guess you're stuck with me," Dipper called down the stairs.

"Nuh-uh, _you're_ stuck with _me!_ "

"Oh yeah?"

"Well _I'm_ stuck with both of yez."

"Psh."

"Whatever, you love it, Grunkle Stan."

"Yeah!"

"Whatever yourself."


	17. Chapter 17

"So are we gonna talk about you hiding five clone boys in our room for a week without telling Grunkle Stan?"

"Are we gonna talk about _you_ taking Wendy's Robbie CD without asking so you could check for 'secret messages'?"

"Hey, I was right!"

"Still… And hey, I was protecting a bunch of defenseless clones from their mean manager! …at first."

"Yeah…"

"…this week's been pretty cray-cray, huh?"

" _Every_ week's crazy in this town, but…"

"…this time the crazy came from us?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe summer romances just… make ya cray-cray."

"Heh, yeah, maybe we should give 'em up."

"Eh… nah."


	18. Chapter 18

"Ugh. This guy."

Stan wasn't up for dinosaur-hunting with McGucket. He wasn't up for much of anything with McGucket. Never had been. Guy had always given him the creeps.

Back when he first came to Gravity Falls, every time he saw McGucket, the guy would give him the weirdest look, like they knew each other, and like he was real ticked off at him for some reason. That creeped Stan the heck out, but even worse was how one day McGucket _stopped_ looking at him like that.

Instead, he acted like he'd forgotten all about him, like they'd never met.


	19. Chapter 19

You know, when that Gideon kid said "Stanford Pines" I almost _freaked out_.

(Lucky for him I didn't. Last time I freaked out was a mess: Wall-to-wall butterflies in six dimensions. Butterflies made of _fire_. _Pretty_ sure a city burned down, which is hilarious, but, still.)

Then I realized the dummy meant the _other_ one. Sixer's sneaky little stunt double. You know after all this time he still thinks he can fix that portal? Adorable.

Don't get me wrong: I'd _love_ to help him, but I never shake hands with humans like that. They've always got something up their sleeves.


	20. Chapter 20

"You _sure_ they're okay?"

"They're _fine_. He said if he couldn't handle them anymore he'd send them back. Look, I know my uncle's kind of a strange guy, but he's _family_. We can trust him."

"I guess it _would_ be a shame to bring them home early over nothing when they've been having such a good time."

"Right? They're finally getting a proper summer for once, one where they actually go outside, explore places they've never seen before…"

"Make new friends, try new things…"

"I'm glad we sent them up there. Uncle Stan's giving them a summer they'll never forget."


	21. Chapter 21

Stan's not sure giving Ford's journal back to Dipper was the right thing to do. He can't act like all the stuff in there's fake anymore, after all, and the kid's already raised the dead after having it back less than a day.

What happens if he tries to confiscate it now, though? Untold weeks of sulking, probably. And Mabel might take her brother's side and turn on him too. He doesn't wanna deal with that.

Besides, if he takes it back, Dipper might come looking for it. Stan's made it too far now. No way he's taking _that_ risk.


	22. Chapter 22

"He really does have six…" Dipper laid his hand on the journal's cover, the metallic hand decal cool beneath his palm.

"Or _she_ does," said Mabel around a mouthful of cereal.

"Nuh-uh. The shapeshifter said: 'That six-fingered nerd hasn't been _him_ self in thirty years.' That's _so_ many clues, I should…" A well-chewed pen slipped into his mouth as he descended into incoherent mutters.

"Bro. You've been nerding out for an _hour_. Take a break. Have some cereal! It's got syrup on it…"

"Sh!"

"Did you just—"

" _Sh!_ "

"…fine. Lemme know when you're done… thinking, I guess."

Dipper didn't respond.


	23. Chapter 23

Pacifica's parents weren't waiting up for her when she got home—not that she'd expected otherwise—but the butler was. She had him make her a hot chocolate.

When he handed her the steaming mug, she asked, "Hey, have you ever heard of…" Tiny homicidal golf ball people? "…anything weird at the mini-golf place?"

"Very good, miss. Will that be all?"

"…yeah." Good talk.

It wasn't as if she'd never seen… weird stuff. She _did_ grow up in Gravity Falls, after all. Still, tonight was a whole lot weirder than usual. And scary. Would've been nice to talk about it.


	24. Chapter 24

Well.

That was embarrassing.

_This_ close to Sixer's little diary, and a _puppet show_ gets in my way?

I mean, I guess I should say _another_ puppet show got in my way; _technically_ the whole day was a puppet show, for me. I'd forgotten how weird it feels, wearing a human body. Gotta admit, I never could stand it for long. All those weird cravings for "food" and "water" and "not getting electrocuted." How do you "normals" manage?

Eh, whatever, I'll get the hang of it. Now I've shaken hands with Pine Tree, I'll have plenty of chances to practice.


	25. Chapter 25

mbraly:

Code looks great, Mark! You accidentally typed "giffany" a bunch of places, tho. Still mad we scrapped her? lol

mrizzo:

lol must be these late nights. srsly don't even remember committing this. i'll clean it up.

mbraly:

Now you're just moving stuff around and leaving the Giffanys?

mrizzo:

soz, lemme get one more commit in…

mbraly:

Dude, CTRL+F "Giffany". She's still all over the place. Get some sleep, I'll fix it.

mrizzo:

The code works perfectly, Matt. Leave it alone.

mbraly:

Someone needs a nap, haha.

mrizzo:

Leave my code alone.

ahirsch:

I thought Mark was out today?


	26. Chapter 26

"So Grunkle Stan, you ever give that hot hand witch a call? Y'know, now she's not all weird and creepifying anymore? I'm asking for Waddles. He's invested."

"I'm not gonna dignify that with a response."

" _That's_ a yes."

"That's a _no_."

"Aw, c'mon! I'll bet you and the hand witch'd be really cute together if you gave her a chance!"

"Will you stop saying han—look, you can't just make up 'pairings' for people like they're characters on one of your dumb TV shows."

"Ugh! This is Lazy Susan all over again, only even _more_ disappointing."

"…too soon, kid."

"…sorry."


	27. Chapter 27

McGucket was _sure_ he wasn't using the memory gun too much.

He could still read, play the banjo, and build most anything he set his mind to.

(He'd lost all recollection of when he _learned_ to do those things…)

He remembered his name, his wife, his boy.

(He _didn't_ remember the last fishing trip the three of them ever took together, on account of the Gobblewonker.)

_And_ he knew his way around town: How to get to the grocery, the pool, the Mystery Shack…

(He'd forgotten the little heart attack he used to have every time he saw Mister Mystery.)


	28. Chapter 28

"What'cha thinkin' 'bout?"

"…hm?"

"You just ate another ink pen, bro-bro."

"Wha—oh. Well, I was just thinking those time travel guys had really good, uh, timing, getting us today."

"I guess?"

"I mean, they could've gotten us a year ago, right? And we would've had no idea what was going on. Or what about a year _from_ now? Though I guess they had to at least pick a time when we were together…"

"…you don't think we'll be together a year from now?"

"What? No. I mean, I _guess_ we—hey, nevermind. That's not what I meant, okay?"

"…okay."


	29. Chapter 29

"How did it go, sweetie?"

"It went great! Thanks so much for letting me talk to him, Mrs. Valentino."

"Oh, any time! It's always nice to meet a friend of Robbie's. Say, you look familiar. Are you the girl who threw that little get together at the Mystery Shack?"

"You mean the one with karaoke and zombies? Yep, that was me! Oh, did you and Mr. Valentino have to clean up after that? Sorry 'bout that."

"Oh, we didn't mind; it was fun!"

"I mean, for the record, the zombies were my brother's idea. But the karaoke was _all_ me!"


	30. Chapter 30

Pacifica had always hated the haunted painting room, even before learning about the curse. One of her earliest memories was sitting across the hall from that door, hugging her knees, convinced the moment she stopped watching, something scary would come out and get her.

"Oh sweetie," her mother had said, once she found her and got her to tell her what was wrong, "You'll be twelve years old by the time anything 'scary' happens in there. Now wipe that frown off your face before you give yourself wrinkles."

Funnily, that _did_ make her feel better. Until she turned twelve, anyway.


	31. Chapter 31

"The author of the journals. My brother."

Even as he says the words, Stan barely believes it.

Seeing Ford's face is almost like looking in a mirror, just like old times. Funny thing is, that kind of _surprises_ him. Most every time he's thought of his brother between the accident and now, he's pictured the angry young man that got sucked into another world, the Ford of thirty years ago.

Thirty years.

The young man's definitely gone now, but the anger? Stan knows too well how that has a way of holding on.

Ford doesn't look happy to see him.


	32. Chapter 32

"Stanley, do you ha—oh. Apologies."

"'sup, Stan Two?"

"…it's Ford. …have we met?"

"Nope. Soos filled me in on your whole deal."

"I see. And you are…?"

"Over it."

"Ah."

"Kidding, dude. Wendy Corduroy."

"Corduroy?"

"You about to ask if I'm 'Dan's kid'?"

"Well, if you are, your father helped me build this place."

"Sweet."

"Pardon me, but what is that device?"

"What device?"

"The one you're… typing? Into?"

"What, my pho— _oh_. Dude. You're from the eighties, right? Anyone shown you the Internet yet?"

"I… don't think so?"

"Dude. Get over here. This is gonna blow your mind."


	33. Chapter 33

Dipper fidgeted with a thirty-eight-sided die.

"How long _has_ it been since you last played DDnD?"

"Too long. Freshman year, Fiddleford and I had a group that met weekly, but, as the semesters wore on, we got too busy and were eventually forced to give it up."

"That sucks."

"Indeed."

"So Old Man McGucket played too, huh?"

"Old Man McG— _you_ know Fiddleford?"

"Oh yeah, he's…" …half-crazy and living at the dump? He couldn't say _that_ … could he?

Dipper bit his lip and dropped the die. Even, he'd tell the truth. Odd, he'd lie.

Thirty-eight. Critical hit.

"Dipper?"

This sucked.


	34. Chapter 34

"Dipper, do you think Gideon was right?"

"Heck no! …about what?"

"Have we gotten… 'eviler'?"

"What? No way! He was just trying to mess with us when he said that."

"Was he? We _were_ doing the exact same thing he was…"

"Not the _exact_ … same… I mean… whoa. Yikes."

"Right?"

"But, but come on! We just needed to make sure Bud didn't get elected! We were doing the _right_ thing!"

"Were we?"

"Well, well… what about Grunkle Ford? He'd know better than to give us the tie if we were doing something wrong, so we weren't!"

"…would he?"

"…what?"

"…nevermind."


	35. Chapter 35

Ford hunched over the kitchen table, re-reading one of his journals, trying to refresh thirty-year-old memories. Trying. Every line swam in front of his eyes, rendering even the unencoded parts inscrutable.

The fact that it was 3:30 in the morning couldn't be helping.

This was stupid.

Except it _wasn't_ , because there _was_ a certain logic to it: Bill could only pester him in the mindscape, he had to be dreaming to enter the mindscape, and he had to be asleep to dream, so, so long as he stayed awake…

"Sixer?"

"What the—oh. Stanley."

"…wha'cha doin'?"

"…I don't know."


	36. Chapter 36

Ford scribbled calculations in a notebook while Dipper babbled about how Stanley's little roadtrip went. He didn't really _care_ what his brother had been up to, but, even in this excessively chatty state, Dipper was good company. Besides, tackling the problem of the rift all by himself over the past couple of days had started to—wait, did he hear that last part of Dipper's story right?

"I'm sorry, did you say Stan said he was _married?_ "

"Uh, divorced. So, uh… yeah. I don't think it lasted long?"

"I… didn't know." Obviously. How could he? Still… The revelation felt strange.


	37. Chapter 37

Now, _that_ was easy.

Figured it would be, but I also figured I'd trick Sixer or Pine Tree into tossing me that rift. When Shooting Star got her sticky little hands on it, I was a _little_ worried. Sure, you'd normally peg Pine Tree as the brains, but _he's_ dumb enough to shake my hand, so…

Shooting Star's different. Still ready to make a deal—humans always are—but I had to be careful. She was gonna stop to think about how much she loved her brother before handing over the rift.

Good thing that's what made her do it.


	38. Chapter 38

Wendy sighed as she crouched in her camouflage, watching her expertly-crafted nachos trap.

After fifteen Christmases' worth of apocalypse training, you'd think she'd be pretty awesome at this Armageddon thing.

She was.

Still, with all her friends statue-ified or missing, it was hard to see the point. What good was kicking all this butt all by herself? (Toby didn't count.)

She'd rather be back at the Mystery Shack: Dodging orders from Stan, bro-ing around with Soos, joining Mabel's spontaneous dance parties, trading inside jokes with…

"Help! The nachos tricked me!"

"Dipper?"

Okay. _Now_ this might be an apocalypse worth having.


	39. Chapter 39

"For once, stop listening to your head, and listen to your heart."

Her words fling Dipper back to that moment weeks ago: Mabel floating over the button, him screaming at her to use her head.

He was wrong _that_ time.

Still, _nothing_ about this place feels right.

Except.

She looks so happy…

"Listen to your heart," she says, ignoring her own as it shrieks this is all wrong, that she didn't get Dipper back just to fight with him again. She doesn't want to fight. She just wants both of them to be happy. This _has_ to work out.

…right?


	40. Chapter 40

He'd tried forgetting. Now he was happy to stick with forgiving. It'd taken a _while_ to get everything back, so he felt a pang of sympathy when he heard what happened to Stanley.

After things settled, he visited the Mystery Shack to catch up with Ford, but Stan answered the door, a scrapbook tucked under his arm. McGucket had never really been friends with the other Pines brother.

…and that was a darn shame.

"Best feelin' there is, ain't it?" He nodded at the scrapbook. "Gettin' things back?"

Stan blinked in surprise, then he smiled wide.

"You said it, pal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you read all forty of these things, you're one of my favorite people on the whole Internet. Thank you for coming on this journey with me.


End file.
